Sinking my teeth into the new fall season . . . a review of 'The Vampire Diaries'

Why am I laboring on Labor Day? Because the new fall season has begun and there's no time to waste. So let's get started.

I don't know about you but I'm excited executive producer Kevin Williamson is back on TV.

Sure "Dawson's Creek" was chockfull of angst and teens with huge vocabularies but it was also highly entertaining (whether you were delighting in the plots or mocking them) and, at the time, put the WB on the TV map. Plus it gave us Joshua Jackson's Pacey and for that, sigh, I'll always be grateful.

Williamson brings that same gift for capturing how when you're a teen everything seems like a life and death situation to his new series, "The Vampire Diaries," premiering Thursday at 8 p.m. on the CW. Except in this case, the stakes kind of are life and death. Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her younger brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) lost their parents four months ago in a car accident. Now they're living with their Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) and trying to lead a normal life. But everyone at school expects them to go back to normal which is not so easy.

Elena is soon drawn to Stefan (Paul Wesley), a mysterious new student who understands her. Yeah, I don't have to tell you that Stefan is a vampire, do I? But he's a good vampire - the sexy, brooding kind - but a good vampire nonetheless.

The reason to watch the show is Ian Somerhalder (Boone on "Lost") as Stefan's brother, Damon, who is also brooding and sexy, but the bad kind of vampire. I honestly almost didn't recognize Somerhalder even though I knew he starred in the series. The whole way he carries himself and walks and talks is completely different. He'd have Boone for breakfast and not give it a second thought.

Stefan and Damon have a showdown toward the end of the pilot and that's when the series truly comes to life. Theirs is an epic battle that has been playing out over centuries and it's the kind of plot as series can hang its remote on. I think as long as the series focuses on the Damon/Elena/Stefan triangle, it will be in good shape. For now, three and a half stars.

After you watch "The Vampire Diaries," let me know what you think.

Highlights of the Week Ahead

All times listed are Eastern Standard Time for September 7-13

Thankfully "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" ends its season tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC Family. And fittingly on Labor Day, Anne will go into labor while Ricky and Adrian go to counseling and everyone finds out who Grace's mom is dating. As we've discussed, the show is so bad many of us simply can't stop watching. But this recent batch of episodes has nearly sent me over the edge. And it wasn't the endless awkward conversations the characters have about sex nor was it the show's insistence that Italy was a lascivious country that's sole purpose was to make young men lose their virginity. No, it was the fact that they managed to make Amy the most unlikable character currently in prime time - that's right she's even worse than Annie on "90210." She's become intolerable and I don't care how realistic it is that a teen mom may be pushed past her limit. This is TV and you cannot make the protagonist that unlikable. Are you still watching "The Secret Life?" Talk about it below.

It's guest stars galore on "Greek" tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC Family. Kadeem Hardison plays Ashleigh's father. Tom Amandes plays Jordan's father. And Thomas Calabro is back as Rebecca's Father, Senator Ken Logan. Casey also discovers who Rebecca kissed at the End of the World Party which should lead to some major drama at ZBZ. By the way, am I the only one who is starting to panic that it may soon be time for Casey, Evan, Ashleigh and maybe even Cappie to graduate. I know the show has perfected dragging out the school year but I'm not sure just how many seasons they can get out of one school year.

"90210" is back for its second season Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the CW. Unfortunately, the CW sent out next week's episode but not the season premiere. As you may have heard, the show has a new executive producer this season, Rebecca Sinclair, and she sent a note to all TV critics promising the season will be "full of drama and humor and style and life." She signs the letter "To new beginnings!," which also happens to be the title of the second season premiere. It's too soon to tell if her overhaul of the series will work. I agree there was a lot last season that needed fixing starting with the highly irritating Annie (Shenae Grimes). It's not good when the series is built around a character that is the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. As last season's finale indicated, the show is definitely trying to rough Annie up and have her not be such a good girl character. As the season begins, Annie is dealing with the fact that all her friends had to spend the summer in summer school because she reported their after-prom party to the police and there's also the problem that she had a hit-and-run accident that she hasn't told anyone about. I'm not sure if this particular story line is going to endear me to Annie, but at this point, I say anything is worth a shot. There's really not much they can do to make her a worse character. Trevor Donovan also begins his guest star stint as Teddy, a star tennis player who shares a past with Adrianna. And I'm still not convinced that Naomi's sister Jen (Sara Foster) is the villain the show needs. After you watch the season premiere of "90210," let me know what you think. Also next week John Schneider begins his guest star stint as Liam's step-father (where hopefully he'll fare better than he did on "Smallville" or "The Secret Life of the American Teenager") and Rumer Willis shows up as a West Beverly student working on The Blaze.

"10 Things I Hate About You" also wraps up its initial 10 episode order on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC Family. Bianca tries to keep the fact that she kissed Joey from Chastity while Kat protests the school's new policy on school uniforms. While I still need Patrick to be more of a bad boy, I'm enjoying the series, particularly Lindsey Shaw as the acerbic Kat. Here's hoping the series gets picked up for more episodes.

"Sons of Anarchy" is also back for its second season at 10 p.m. on FX. The big guest stars this season are Adam Arkin as Ethan Zobelle, the leader of a white separatist organization and Henry Rollins as Zobelle's right-hand man. I've watched the second season premiere and  the show simply isn't for me. But I can appreciate why so many of you enjoy it and I'll continue to check in on it as the second season progresses. 

"So You Think You Can Dance" is back for its first-ever fall run Wednesday at 8 p.m. on FOX. For season six, the show traveled to Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and New Orleans in search of the best dancers.

It's the season premiere of "Glee" Wednesday at 9 p.m. on FOX. I really liked this episode but what I liked most were the top-notch musical numbers (particularly Matthew Morrison version of Kayne West's "Gold Digger") and no one can deliver one liners like Jane Lynch. But aside from the over-exposure we talked about last week, I'm a little concerned that the show's plots could quickly go off the rails. We've seen this happen with Ryan Murphy shows before particularly with "Nip/Tuck" where the series eventually morphed into a caricature of itself (is anyone planning on tuning into "Nip/Tuck" when the show returns for its final season in October?) I think the series needs to get us invested in all the characters before it sends viewers on a plot roller coaster. But I'm still thrilled that the show is finally kicking off its first season - I'm glad there's still room on primetime television for a show like "Glee" that takes risks and is unlike anything else currently on TV. By the way, if you miss this week's episode, FOX repeats it this Friday at 9 p.m.

"Leverage" has its "summer finale" Wednesday at 10 p.m. on TNT. The show will be back with new episodes early next year. This week's episode introduces Jeri Ryan, who will temporarily replace Gina Belman who will be on maternity leave.

"Supernatural" returns for its fifth season at 9 p.m. on the CW. The premiere picks up right where the finale left off with the Devil (Mark Pellegrino) rising from hell and some very disturbing news about Castiel.

FOX says goodbye to "King of the Hill," which has its series finale Sunday at 8 p.m.

Don't forget that Paula Abdul guest stars on "Drop Dead Diva" Sunday at 10 p.m. on Lifetime.

That's all for today. I'm back on Friday with my picks for the best and worst new show of each network and to talk about the season finale of "True Blood." Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week or a topic for discussion? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com or follow me on Twitter.